Sinnoh Adventures
by Scribbling-Weasel
Summary: Sean, a farm boy from the Sinnoh region, decides to become a Pokemon Trainer. Accompanied by his beloved Eevee, an ex-Rocket member Jody, and a mischeivous swimmer Marina, he travels around the region and meets its interesting inhabitants, both human and Pokemon. Who knows what would this journey bring, and how would it affect our heroes?
1. Hungry Eevee

Alice had been looking for her younger brother for about half an hour. They had a lot of work on their farm and he decided to avoid his job. And she would _not_ let him do that! They had a lot of work on their berry farm, and there were only four people here, including her, her brother, and their mum. Their dad was out in the city, selling what they had harvested.

"Scyther! There you are," Alice shouted to a mantis-like Pokemon that belonged to her mum. He was sitting under a nearby tree, carving some pattern on its trunk out of boredom. Scyther looked around and waved to his friend as she ran towards him. "I'm lucky I found you. Could you help me with something?"

"Scy!"

"Thanks. Do you know where is Sean? He's supposed to work just like me and mum!" Alice intentionally shouted the last sentence, believing that her younger brother might hear it.

"Scyther!"

"Really? Where is he?"

Scyther didn't reply. He just climbed up the tree, stayed there for some time… and then suddenly, he _and_ Sean fell down on the ground. The teenager amortised the Pokemon's fall.

"There you are!" Alice stared angrily at her brother like she wanted to kill him with her sight. "Lemme guess, you've been sleeping all day?"

"Ugh, who told you that?" asked Sean, standing up when Scyther decided to get off him.

"I'm your sister, I know you too well…"

"Well, _this_ time, I did my job! Scyther can confirm it." The boy pointed at a basket full of tasty berries… nest to four other, empty baskets. This sight caused Alice to hide her face in her hands.

"You will never change, will you…"Sean sighed and went back to work while mum and Alice were having a lunch. _Yeah, I need to 'deserve' something to eat._ He ate one of the berries from the basket he was holding, and started harvesting more from the trees.

"Scyther!" the Pokemon shouted at the boy and gently smacked him with his blade-like forearm.

"I know I shouldn't eat them! You don't have to remind me that!"

"Scy!"

"Hey, don't forget that you were supposed to cover me. You're guilty as much as I am."

Suddenly, both Sean and Scyther went silent as they heard something close to them. They looked at one of the full baskets and saw… a wild Eevee that decided to steal some berries. It had a small scar on its right ear. It looked at the boy and the mantis-like Pokemon, grabbed a fruit with its teeth and quickly got away.

"Hey! Get back here!" shouted Sean. He jumped above the fence and ran after the little thief. Scyther tried to stop him but he was hopeless, so decided to call his owner.

Meanwhile, Sean was following that Eevee in the nearby woods. As he ran further, the forest was denser and denser. All of a sudden, he tripped over a root pointing out of the ground. Fortunately, he didn't twist anything, only bruised himself a little bit.

Just as he shook his head, he looked forward and noticed the Eevee with a scarred ear. It was staring at him with curiosity in its beady eyes. A moment later, it walked closer.

"Eev?"

"Uh, hi there." Sean smiled at the Pokemon. "You're the one who stole those berries, aren't you?"

Eevee dropped its long ears. Looking closer, the boy noticed that it's very slim and hungry. No wonder it stole them.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble," he said and smiled again. He sat down on the ground, next to the Pokemon. "You know what? I could give you some food."

"Eevee?"

"Sure, no problem. We've got a plenty of it. We could take a good care of you. So, wanna come with me?"

These Pokemons used to be very trusting, sometimes even naive. This one apparently was like this as well. Not like Sean didn't like it or anything. The Eevee smiled at the boy and joyfully jumped into his arms. Sean's smile grew bigger as he gently scratched its head.

"Alright," he said, standing up and holding his new friend. "Let's get back home."

"Sean! Seeaan!" they suddenly heard the voice of his mum.

"Sean, where are you?!" That was surely Alice.

"Scyyytheeer!" And that was, of course, Scyther.

"Over here! Hold on, I'm coming!" Sean shouted back and, with Eevee in his hands, walked towards the voices.

"Aw, she's so sweet! Where'd you find her?" asked Sean's mum, watching her son's new friend eating a bowl of Pokemon food in an insane speed.

"She tried to steal some berries from the basket so I decided to bring her here," replied Sean, applying a bandage on his bruised elbow. "Wow, she's _already_ finished?"

"Eevee~!" Eevee chirped joyfully, sitting next to the emptied bowl. The boy scratched her cheek, making her purr.

"She likes you," noticed Alice.

"Can I keep her, mum?"

"I don't know, Sean…" replied the woman.

"Pleeeaaase?"

"Oh, fine. But under one condition: you'll stop with that laziness of yours during the work. Also, I'll have you know that owning a Pokemon is a big responsibility."

"I know, I know…"

"Hmm… I've got an idea. Sean, if you're bored on the farm so much, why won't you go and meet professor Rowan?" suggested Alice.

"Really?" Both Sean and Eevee looked at his mum with hope in their eyes.

"Why not? Maybe then, you'll finally stop procrastinating."

"YES!" shouted Sean and hugged his Pokemon.

In the morning, Sean took everything he needed to his bag, and left the farm on his bike, waving towards his sister and mum. He was finally free! He looked at Eevee that was sitting in the basket and enjoying the wind.

"How're you feeling, Eevee?"

"Eevee~!"

The boy scratched her ear and then, focused on the ride. They should reach Sandgem in a couple of hours.

And suddenly, it started raining.

"Ah, great…"


	2. PokeHunting

Somewhere in Sinnoh, on a beautiful, peaceful meadow, there was a simple trap made of a box and a stick. Inside it, there was a big, tasty, sweet poffin - baked by the maker of this trap herself! Speaking of the maker, she was hiding in the bushes several meters further, holding a rope tied to the stick.  
"Great~! When a Pokemon comes closer, lured by my glorious piece of bakery, I'll finally catch it!" a blonde teenage girl said to herself, proud of her plan. "Jody, Team Rocket's master of traps! That sounds cool!"  
She went back to staring at her trap, ready to pull the rope in any moment. Suddenly, she noticed a Buneary hopping here and there. After a short while, it noticed a sweet smell of the poffin lying under the box. It came closer… closer… closeeer… And then, Jody pulled the rope!  
"Yes!" she shouted, jumping from the bush out of excitement. She ran towards the box to look at her prey, lifted it… and suddenly got pounded by the caught buneary which quickly got away, with the poffin in its paws.  
Jody lifted her head from the ground, shook it, and stared at the place where the Pokemon was standing just a moment ago. She groaned from both pain and frustration.  
"Why can't I catch _any_ Pokemon?!"

"Okay, take two."  
Jody moved close to the nearby stream - almost a river, judging by its depth. What about Water Pokemon? Maybe she will catch one of _them_? She set a net across the stream in the forest and, hidden behind a tree, waited for her next prey, sometimes throwing some poffins on the other side of the net. After several minutes spent on staring at the trap, ready to stretch it in any moment, she saw a Buizel, casually swimming on its back along the stream. Jody would swear it was asleep. One more advantage.  
"Slowly, get closer… and now…"  
And then, the time stopped. She felt a very familiar, and very unpleasing, crawling on her back. She slowly looked at the cause of this feeling. Her scream might have been heard on the other side of Sinnoh. The cause was the biggest fear of this particular girl: a little, bug Pokemon.  
Startled Weedle, which was that bug Pokemon, squeaked and, taking Jody as a threat, stung her with both its venomous stings right in the back: one in the neck, and another in the sacrum.  
Jody yelled in pain and threw the larva-like Pokemon from her. Suddenly, she felt very weak. Her legs refused to work and in a split second, she fell into the stream, tangling herself in her own trap.

 **8 years ago**

How did she get her fear from bug Pokemons? It happened about eight years ago, when she was living in Johto, and didn't even know about Team Rocket's existence. She used to live in a house with a big garden, neighbouring to a huge forest.  
"Growlithe, fetch!" Eleven-year old Jody threw a red ball towards her Pokemon friend. She loved him more than anything else.  
"Grow!"  
Growlithe jumped high and caught the ball with his sharp teeth. He walked with it towards his owner and gave it to her, getting a poffin in exchange. They had been training like this for about a week. Jody had dreamed about being a Coordinator since she saw one of the shows about three years before. Unfortunately, though, she was too young to even train with professionals. Still, she was happy to train and play with her Growlithe like this, in the garden.  
After severals throws, she threw the ball a little bit too far. She didn't even think she had such power in her arms. The ball landed somewhere in the forest. In the dark, scary forest. She had sometimes seen some strange and creepy lights inside at night.  
"Uh-oh… L-Let's better get another one…" stuttered Jody, scared of what could be in the depths of the bushes. Growlithe, however, was a little bit more courageous. He ran to the border of the forest. "Hey, wait!"  
They walked inside together, not saying anything either to her mom nor dad. They would get angry after that, but Jody had something worse to be afraid of. She didn't like darkness. It was making her imagination run on a full power, creating nonexistent shapes in the shadows that surrounded her. Fortunately, she was with Growlithe who accompanied her during that 'adventure', giving her some light with his fire, and some soft fur to hug and hide in.  
"I-I don't like this place, Growlithe. We really shoul- Hey, there it is!" Jody suddenly noticed a red ball lying in the bush. The canine Pokemon growled at it but the girl didn't listen and tried to pick it up.  
Instead of the ball, she found a nose of a Weedle. A Weedle which was very angry that somebody disturbed its sleep. All of a sudden, it started to sting poor Jody all over her body until Growlithe scared it away with his fire breath. He then walked towards the girl, crying of both pain and fear. She immediately hugged him tight.  
After going back and getting medical help, Jody had sworn to never, never-ever-ever, get close to any kind of bug Pokemons.

 **Present time**

The girl was woken up by a soft pat on her cheek. She coughed out some water, wiped her face, and looked around. She was lying on the ground, next to the stream, all wet and cold, with her legs tangled in the net. Above her, there was that Buizel which she wanted to catch. It helped her?  
"Bui! Buizel!" it shouted out of excitement that it Jody did wake up.  
"Ah… Thanks, little guy…" Jody sat down and sighed out of relief. After a while, she noticed that Buizel was holding a poffin in its paws. "Uh… is it… for me?"  
It nodded and a smile appeared on its orange muzzle. Jody, uncertain about the taste of it, took the poffin from Buizel's paws and took a bite. It wasn't so bad, but it was definitely made to be eaten by a Pokemon, not by a human.  
"Buiz Buizel?"  
"Uh… Yes, I was trying to catch you like this. Sorry…"  
"Buiz?"  
"Because… Ugh… Because I've been trying to catch _any_ Pokemon - by any means. With no effect. Nothing, zero! Normally, if I had a Pokemon, I would simply fight you and _then_ catch you with a Pokeball. But without any Pokemon, I'm forced to do such traps, like some poacher..."  
She hid her face in her knees. Suddenly, she felt Buizel's paw patting her head. She looked at it and smiled, seeing it, offering a hug. Since she couldn't do anything else at the moment, she accepted it and hugged the weasel-like Pokemon.  
"Buizel!"  
"What? You want to be my first Pokemon?"  
The Pokemon nodded. Jody joyfully pulled out a Pokeball out of her pocket and gently tapped it on the head. Suddenly, Buizel disappeared in a red light, the Pokeball shook once, twice… and then it stopped.  
"Yes! Finally, I've got a Pokemon! Jody's back, ladies and gentlemen!" shout Jody out of excitement, immediately Suddenly, she heard some leaves shaking as if there was something. She turned around and found a Weedle, just standing there and staring at her with its black eyes.  
"Weed?"  
The girl didn't even scream. She just fainted as the confused larva-like Pokemon just stood there. After a while, it went back to the bush.


	3. Troublesome Thief

Hiding in that hollowed tree was a good idea. They didn't only hide inside from the rain, but also managed to fall asleep. It wasn't maybe the cosiest spot to sleep in the world but at least they didn't catch cold because of the weather.  
Sean was woken up by Eevee's ear, twitching from time to time on his face. He opened his eyes and smiled, looking at his Pokemon friend. Eevee herself was awake for about three minutes, yet she was still not entirely conscious. Suddenly, she felt her owner's fingers scratching her behind her ears.  
"Eee~" she chirped, lying her head on his chest and listening to the beating of his heart.  
"Morning, sunshine…" said Sean, and yawned. He looked around, at the forest. It was still wet from the rain. "What do you think? Quick breakfast and back on the road?"  
"Eev!" confirmed the Pokemon.  
Sean and Eevee left the hollow in the tree. The boy flexed several times, making his bones perform a symphony of cracks. After warming himself up, he wore his bandana, took off the bag and searched for some food. He had some sandwiches and Eevee had a small bag of dry food - nothing special but food is food. After that humble breakfast, they both jumped on the bike and returned on the route to Sandgem. Sean was very optimistic about meeting with Professor Rowan. That was the first time he could see him not on the TV screen, but in person! Eevee, meanwhile, simply enjoyed the ride in the sun. There was no rush. At least Sean thought so. He thinking like this when he noticed that the way was much longer than he had thought. What? He had never had to ride so far!  
They reached Sandgem in the late evening. Right after reaching the laboratory's fence, Sean grabbed Eevee, jumped over the fence and sprinted towards the door. Suddenly, he collided with the closed door. The fox-like Pokemon, fortunately, avoided the collision by jumping out of her owner's hands. Sean fell down on the ground, feeling pain all over his face.  
"Ugh… At least we're here… Now, we just need to wait…" he said more to himself than to Eevee.

* * *

Professor Rowan, an old man with a big, morse-like moustache, woke up early. He dressed up, ate a breakfast, drank a morning coffee, and went to his laboratory. He was about to take his keys and open the door, when he suddenly heard some sort of snorting on his side. He looked there and noticed a boy in a bandana, a green jacket, and a pair of high work boots, sleeping on the bench, with an Eevee sleeping on his chest. He seemed to be a new trainer. He walked closer, looked at these two, and coughed loudly to wake them up. The boy opened his brown eyes… and immediately stood up, shocked of who he saw.  
"P-Professor Rowan!"  
"Yes, that's me. Good morning. And you are…?"  
"Sean, sir!" replied Sean, not knowing what to do. It was his first time - meeting a famous Pokemon Professor. Eevee, on the other hand, didn't feel stressed at all. She was just a little annoyed by being woken up that early.  
"Nice to meet you. I see you've come quite early."  
"Honestly, I've arrived yesterday…"  
"Hm, that explains that red forehead of yours."  
Sean quickly hid it with under his bandana.  
"Anyway, you must be here to become a Pokemon Trainer, yes?"  
"Yes, exactly."  
"Don't be so stressed, Sean, I don't bite," said Rowan and smiled under his moustache. He opened the door with the key and let his guest and his friend come inside.  
After a small coffee offered by the Professor, they had a small talk about Sean's journey to Sandgem and about how he got his Eevee. Rowan saw a great potential in this farm boy. Suddenly, he stood up from his chair and showed Sean to follow him.  
"So, you want to be a trainer. So… you'll need a trainer equipment: your own PokeDex and a set of- My goodness, what just happened here?!"  
Both Rowan and Sean just stood there and stared at the room, looking like after a whirlwind. What was the most shocking for the Professor, was that there were no Pokeballs. Not a single one.  
"Who did this?" Rowan asked himself.  
"Professor, look!"  
They noticed that one of the windows was wide open, and that the wall was full of muddy footsteps.  
"Whoever did this, they weren't very cautious…"  
"Eev…" hummed Eevee, confirming her friend's words.  
Sean turned to the Professor and fixed the bandana. Determination appeared on his face.  
"Don't worry, Prof, we'll find them," he said and looked at Eevee.  
"Eevee!" confirmed the Pokemon.  
Before Rowan even said anything, they quickly left the laboratory and went on its backyard where was a small field for battles. They started looking for clues.  
"Eevee!" Eevee ran towards another footsteps, leading to the border of the town.  
"That thief must be the worst of them all when it comes to hiding the traces…"  
"Eev…"

* * *

"There she is… Eevee, hide your ears, they're sticking out!"  
Suddenly, a blonde girl holding a bag full of Pokeballs, looked around, but shrugged and went back to her little camp. Sean got almost hypnotized by her beauty: those eyes - blue like a sky, this hair - so blonde that almost white… Then, he saw a big red R on her black uniform, and the whole dream about asking her out vanished without a trace… Okay, maybe it did leave one. He had no broader knowledge about Team Rocket except that they used to kidnap Pokemons for their own purposes. And what were they? He could only guess.  
"And the last ones… I wonder how their faces would be when they see that I, myself, cleared out the whole lab from their starter Pokemons! Finally, all those jokes about me will end..."  
Sean and Eevee exchanged the looks and all of a sudden, jumped out of the bush, making the Team Rocket girl yelling out of shock and jumping away a bit.  
"You should clean your boots before you play burglar, cutie!" said Sean.  
"Cutie?" The girl blushed. So did the boy as she realised what he just said. "Ah, nevermind. What are you going to do, then?"  
"Eevee, Quick Attack!" Sean pointed at his opponent. Eevee quickly ran towards her and was almost about to attack her, when suddenly, the girl threw a Pokeball.  
"Buizel, Hydro Pump!"  
"Huh?"  
Suddenly, a Buizel showed up on Eevee's way and, in a split-second, shot a high-pressured water stream from its muzzle, pushing the fox-like Pokemon back, directly at her owner. They both fell down on the ground, but quickly got up, ready for more.  
"Again, Hydro pump!"  
"Eevee, dodge! Now!"  
In the last moment, Eevee dodged the next shot of water, and then another one, and another one, quickly jumping her way to Buizel.  
"Now, Tackle!"  
Suddenly, the weasel-like Pokemon got hit by that small, fluffy Eevee, and landed close to its owner. The girl quickly helped it stand up, and then shouted:  
"Double Hit!"  
"Dodge!" shouted Sean.  
Eevee dodged the first hit but didn't manage to do the same twice in so small time. She got hit and landed on the ground.  
"Eevee!"  
She quickly got up, ready for the next move, making her owner and friend smile. Then, however, the smile vanished as he glared at the girl.  
"Honestly? I had no idea that Team Rocket recruits so young people. You're wasting your potential!"  
"You know nothing about us! Hydro pump, now!"  
"Bui-"  
"Staraptor, Aerial Ace, now!" they all suddenly heard the voice of Professor Rowan.  
The Professor's Staraptor in a split-second swooped towards the girl's Buizel, interrupting it in attacking Sean's Eevee and severely hurting it.  
"Professor!"  
"I might be a little old but I still know how to fight. Now, let's get this little thief together!"  
"Buizel!" the girl shouted to the fainted Pokemon. She quickly, a little clumsily, picked up its Pokeball and sent it back inside. She then looked at both Sean and Rowan, ready to finish her, and, out of fear of her own life and health, ran away, taking only two, probably empty, Pokeballs.  
"Hmpf. She must be new," said the Professor and took his Pokeball. "Staraptor, come back!"  
The bird-like Pokemon disappeared in a red light, departing inside the Pokeball. Rowan smiled under his moustache and then looked at Sean, taking his Eevee, weakened by this sudden battle, in his arms.  
"Nice job. You will be a great trainer one day."

* * *

"Now, when that thief is gone, we can finally get back to what we started," said Rowan, placing the Pokeballs on their places, with a little help of Sean. When the last one was left on the table, the Professor came closer to the boy, and handed him a set of starting Pokeballs and a red PokeDex. "Here. From now on, you're an official trainer."  
"Thank you, Prof," replied Sean and bowed to the old man. "Now, let's see how it works, Eevee…"  
He opened the PokeDex and aimed at his Eevee, sitting on the table. After a short moment, an Eevee showed up on the smaller screen, and after that, another thing showed up: a description of the Pokemon:  
"Eevee, Evolution Pokemon. Thanks to their irregular genetic structure, Eevee can adapt to harsh environment, e.g. snow-covered mountains, cities, or forests."  
"Eev?"  
"Alright, Eevee, let's get you inside," said the boy and picked up a Pokeball. Eevee shivered. "Huh? What's wrong?"  
"E-Eevee…" replied the Pokemon.  
"You're scared of small spaces? Okay, no problem." Sean put the Pokeball to the bag and picked Eevee up. He gently rubbed her ear, making her calm down. Then, he looked at Rowan. "Thank you, Prof. We're leaving now."  
"You should go to the Pokemon Center first, to make sure she's alright."  
"Thank you. Bye!"  
"Have a good journey!"


	4. Mischief by the River

The weather was sunny and warm. Maybe a little bit too much. Sean and Eevee were riding next to a river so they decided to take a break and rest in cold water. That was not only very pleasant, but also good for their health; neither of them would want to suddenly pass out due to dehydration which, while almost non-stop riding a bike, was very easy to get.  
The young trainer stopped and lied down his bike as Eevee jumped out of the basket, panting from the constant heat that kept striking them from above.  
"Man, if that rain came one or two days later…" Sean said to himself. He quickly took off all his clothes, except for his bandana. He actually used to remove it only to take a shower or to go to sleep. He wore the swim trunks and went to the cool water, shivering from the instant feeling of chill. "Oh yes, that's it…"  
"Eevee!" chirped Eevee and jumped into the water right after her friend. The splash she caused hit Sean in the face. He laughed and splashed back. "Eev~!"  
"What? You started it!"  
After some minutes of playing in cold water, they both just sat by the river to get warm and dry before they continue their journey around the region. Sean had a good body shape. After all, he was working physically on a farm - he couldn't not gain these muscles.  
A while later, both Sean and Eevee yawned. That was a one lazy day...

* * *

Our farm boy wasn't the only one to take a rest in the water. Jody, a rookie from Team Rocket, and her friend, Buizel, decided to take a bath too - quite nearby to her 'nemesis'. Stripped down to the swimsuit, she lied down in the sun and, patting the water with her feet, quietly purred as the sun bathed her in its beams. Even villain beginners need some break, don't they?  
Meanwhile, Buizel was swimming around and collecting some shiny stones from the bottom of the river. He must have been thinking that one of them could be a pearl or something, which he could give to his friend as a gift.  
"Ah… I just love such weather… Do you, Buizel?"  
"Bui!"  
All of a sudden, Jody felt something tickling her feet. It felt like a fin or something. She giggled and opened her eyes. No one around, and Buizel was a bit too far to do it. She shrugged and lied down on the grass again. And again - something tickled her! But this time, she heard some splashing - right next to her.  
"Buizel, did you hear something?" she asked her friend. The Pokemon raised his head, listening to the environment, but except for the gentle humming of the water, he heard nothing. He shook his head towards the girl. "Huh, weird…"  
She slowly stood up and went deeper to the water… and suddenly, she felt that fin-like think again! And there were no Pokemons around to do this! Even Buizel left the water to take his findings on the sun.  
"What the- Hey, who stole my clothes?!" yelled Jody as she noticed that everything she had was gone.

* * *

Eevee's ears twitched as she heard some yelling not so far away. She jumped on Sean's belly and woke him up.  
"Huh? What is it?" he asked. He used to sleep so hard that if there was a battle right next to him, he would probably just groan and ask for five more minutes.  
"Eev, Eevee!"  
"What? Who?"  
"Eev."  
"A girl?" Raising his eyebrow, he stood up and looked around. "Where did she yell from?"  
The Pokemon pointed forwards with her foreleg. Sean followed her and actually noticed somebody.  
"Nice one, Eevee," he said and scratched her back.  
Suddenly, they both heard some splashing around them. Sean turned around to take his things… but they were not here!  
"What the-"  
"Eevee!" chirped Eevee to get his attention. She actually saw something.  
"Huh? A blue tailfin?" asked the confused boy. The Pokemon nodded and pointed at the water with his paw.  
"Hmm… That must have been a Pokemon. I'm sure it swam with the stream. Let's g- You again?!"  
He was just about to follow the river when he suddenly noticed that someone was coming. And that someone was that Team Rocket girl… looking much more attractive in a blue swimsuit than in that black uniform. They both looked at each other, then noticed that they were actually not just looking but staring at each other's swimsuits, and blushed hard.  
 _"Why must she be so cute in that?"_ Sean asked himself in his thoughts.  
 _"Nice muscles… Wait, what the heck am I thinking about?"_ thought the girl.  
They both covered themselves, red like razz berries. Meanwhile, their Pokemons looked at each other as if they were something between friends and rivals.  
"So…"  
"Uh…"  
"Yeah…"  
There was a long, unpleasant silence between the two trainers. Finally, Sean said something more than just 'Uh':  
"What are you doing here? Are you… following me?"  
"Wha- no, I'm not!" replied the girl as her cheeks turned more red than the boy's bandana. "Somebody stole my clothes!"  
"And, because I'm the closest to you, you're accusing me of this? Look at me!"  
She did - and she noticed that he had also been robbed and ended up only with his trunks and his bike.  
"It seems we've both been robbed…" he said after a moment of silence and looked at the water. Then, he turned back to the girl. "Wait, did you notice anything weird back there?"  
"Like what?"  
"I dunno. Eevee said she saw some tailfin and I trust her."  
"You mean a Pokemon did it? Why would it do that?"  
"Mischievous nature?" Sean smirked at her. "But I'm about ninety nine percent sure that it ran away with the stream."  
"Alright then, farm boy, how about a short ceasefire until we get our stuff back?"  
Sean pretended to think about it.  
"Hmm, I'm not sure. Eevee, what do you think it?" he asked his Pokemon. Eevee nodded with so much energy in her tiny body. "We're in."  
Both trainers came closer and shook their hands.  
"By the way, I'm Sean."  
"Jody."  
"A Cute name for a cute girl. Ugh, dammit, Sean!"  
Buizel and Eevee also came closer to each other and made a cute fist-pump-like gesture.  
"Eev."  
"Bui."

* * *

They had been walking with the stream for about twenty minutes, the sun kept shining, and the water kept teasing them with its coolness. Sean and Jody looked at each other from time to time, and blushed when their sights met. Their Pokemons, on the other hand, were less concerned about each other's company.  
"Uh, so… Why?"  
"Why what?" asked Jody.  
"Why did you join Team Rocket?" asked Sean. "You don't look like a criminal to me."  
"Oh, great, another one…" "Eh?"  
"Just because I look like a cute girl from a good house, doesn't mean I'm not one!" Jody's cheeks once again turned red - this time, from frustration.  
"Oh yeah? Then who are you then?"  
All of a sudden, she calmed down.  
"A girl from a good house…" she hummed.  
"So why are you wearing black?"  
"Because I want to show people that I don't have to be always a good girl - that's why!"  
"Doesn't sound so true to me…" he hummed, smirking at her.  
"Oh, just shut up!" she growled and pushed him straight into the water.  
Sean quickly disappeared in the river. Jody and the Pokemons stopped and looked at it. The girl slowly came closer to the water.  
"Uh, Sean, are you okay?"  
All of a sudden, something grabbed her both hands and pulled her underwater. She squealed out of shock right before she disappeared. Eevee and Buizel looked at eachother and laughed, aware of what was going on. After a moment, Sean reappeared on the surface to take a breath. He laughed, looking at Jody who swam up right next to him. She was angry with him but after a short while, seeing that everything was okay and everybody was having fun, she giggled and blushed at Sean. Maybe he wasn't such a bad companion after all?  
They quickly left the water and, refreshed, went back to looking for their little thief.

* * *

They finally reached a small lake. There was a big, flat rock, on which someone was lying and sunbathing. Judging by a pair of nice legs dangling from the edge of the rock, it was a girl. An attractive girl. Sean was a lucky guy after all, wasn't he?  
Both Sean and Jody hid in the bush while Eevee jumped on a tree branch, and Buizel hid underwater. They all wanted to spot that one water Pokemon that stole their things.  
Suddenly, Jody shivered as if something was crawling on her back.  
"S-Sean, is that a bug type?" she stuttered quietly. Sean rolled his eyes.  
"Come on, it's just a leaf," he comforted her and looked at her back.  
There was a bug type: a tiny, sleepy Metapod that decided to take a nap. Sean gently picked it up, not to disturb its sleep, and, even gentlier, put it on the grass, then put a small leaf on Jody's back. A moment later, he sweeped it away.  
"See? Just a leaf," he smiled. She must have had some traumatic memory about bug type Pokemons. Then, they both went back to observing the lake.  
"Buiz! Buizel!"  
"There it is. Look!"  
They finally spotted something leaving the water. It was a water Pokemon, holding something in its mouth. It looked like Sean's Eevee!  
"Wow, a Vaporeon!" Jody's eyes sparkled as she was looking at such a rare Pokemon that usually could be found near towns and cities.  
They kept watching it. Suddenly, as it chirped towards the sunbathing girl, she jumped down to it, and petted its fins. She was a tan, honey-eyed redhead, wearing only a sports bikini, perfectly fitting her slim body, likely gained from a lot of swimming. Nothing bad to look at.  
"She is the thief?" asked Sean.  
"Apparently," quietly replied Jody, wrinkling her eyebrows. "Let's get her!"  
Sean, Jody, Eevee, and Buizel ran from bush to bush, to catch them by surprise. Meanwhile, the girl was looking at the stolen things: the Pokeballs, the clothes, the PokeDex… And before she could even pet her Vaporeon again, the two trainers jumped out from the green. The girl and her Pokemon jumped away but didn't look too surprised.  
"There you are!" Jody shouted at her.  
"Get our stuff back!" added Sean.  
"Eev!"  
"Buiz!"  
The swimmer girl smirked and looked at them.  
"You're quick," she said. Then she noticed Sean's Eevee. "Hey, you've got an Eevee?"  
Confused, Sean and Eevee looked at each other.  
"Uh, yes? What's so surprising about it?"  
"Nearby, there are only two packs of Eevee. Hey, maybe yours is from the same as my Vaporeon?"  
This time, both Vaporeon and Eevee looked at each other and shrugged at their owners. Jody sighed.  
"Anyway, who are you and why do you need our things for?" she asked the thief.  
"Well, you could say I'm a little… desperate to find somebody to fight, so I asked Vaporeon to find someone. It's not like I told him to actually steal from you. Did I say so, Big V?"  
"Vap!" The water Pokemon shook his head.  
"See?"  
The two trainers stared at him and hid their faces in their hands, sighing out loud.  
"And your name is…?" Sean reminded her that she didn't introduce herself.  
"Call me Marina, sweetheart~"  
Did she just… winked to him? He blushed so hard that his cheeks matched to his bandana. Jody didn't know why, but it made her quite angry.  
"How about a bet?" suggested Marina. "If you win, we'll give your stuff back."  
"And if we lose?" asked Jody.  
"Well, I couldn't keep it all for myself, and I'm not that bad to let you go with nothing except what you've got on yourselves. How about… twenty bucks from each of you?"  
"Twenty dollars?" repeated Sean.  
"Deal. But you give us forty when we win," said Jody.  
Marina smirked.

* * *

The rock, on which Marina was sunbathing, was an arena. Sean and Jody stood on one side, and Marina on another. Two versus one. Was it even permitted in official battles? Anyway, none of the three trainers seemed to complain about it. Marina was the most confident about her victory.  
"Vaporeon, Quick Attack!"  
"Dodge and Tackle, Eevee!"  
"Buizel, Hydro Pump, now!"  
As Vaporeon charged at the two Pokemons, Eevee took a quick leap on the side and then suddenly headbutting him, making him fall on the side. Then, Buizel shot a strong stream of water straight into the water Eeveelution. Unfortunately though, they were both water types so the biggest thing Buizel did to him was pushing him away back to his trainer.  
"Nice cooperation, but it's too little to beat us. Vaporeon, Hydro Pump at Eevee, then, Quick Attack at Buizel!"  
"Dodge, Dodge!" shouted Sean but it was too late - Eevee got hit by Vaporeon's Hydro Pump and landed in her friend's arms, barely conscious due to the strength that had just hit her. "Eevee, are you okay?"  
"Ee-vee…" stuttered the Pokemon.  
"Buizel, Dodge!"  
Buizel happily made it and dodged Vaporeon's Quick Attack.  
Jody, seeing how her companion was taking care of his Pokemon, reminded herself her childhood when she, herself, was looking after all the Pokemons in her neighbourhood before that accident. Powered up, by the memories, she stood in front of both Sean and Eevee. They looked at her, and she smirked at him.  
"Now it's my turn. Buizel, Hydro Pump!"  
"Bui!"  
"Vaporeon, do the same!"  
"Vap!"  
Both Buizel and Vaporeon shot a stream of water at each other. The streams were so strong that they deflected each other.  
"Quick, Buizel, stop and Tackle!"  
"What?!"  
Suddenly, Buizel stopped shooting water. Meanwhile, Vaporeon got hit by his own, deflected Hydro Pump. He got pushed away a little bit. Right after he shook his head, he noticed Jody's Buizel charging at him.  
"Dodge!" yelled Marina.  
Vaporeon was about to take a leap on the side but Buizel was faster and hit him wit all of his body.  
"Again!" shouted Jody.  
The next Quick Attack was even stronger and almost made him faint. Marina's jaw dropped as she saw her Vaporeon on the edge of consciousness. Meanwhile, Jody looked at Sean, whose Eevee quickly woke up. She was bruised but mostly alright. "How about finishing it together?" Jody asked her companion and gave him a warm smile. Sean smiled back, looked at Eevee, determined to fight back, and nodded.  
"Let's do this!"  
"Eevee!"  
"Come on, Vaporeon, you can do it, boy!" Marina begged her Pokemon.  
"Va...po…" groaned the Eeveelution.  
"Buizel, Quick Attack!"  
"Eevee, Tackle!"  
The two Pokemons looked at each other and, smiling, hit Vaporeon in the same time, from both sides. The Eeveelution yelled and landed by Marina's feet, completely unconscious, as she was just standing there and watching the inevitable.  
"Yes!" both Sean and Jody shouted, and hugged out of excitement. Just a moment later they noticed what they were doing, and quickly backed off.

* * *

"Okay, stand still…" Sean whispered to Vaporeon, gently treating his bruises. He had just helped his Eevee and Jody's Buizel, now it was time for him. "And… now, you can go."  
"Vap," hummed Vaporeon and slightly bowed to show both gratitude respect.  
"No problem."  
"Vap Vaporeon…"  
"Nah, it's okay. I'm not angry about it," Sean comforted him.  
"Alright, Vaporeon, let's go back," said Marina and returned her Pokemon to the Pokeball. "Okay, I must say that: you two are a pretty good team."  
"Really?" asked Jody, finally having her uniform back.  
"Yeah. For a pair of beginners, you're pretty strong."  
"Thanks. I think…" Sean smiled, taking Eevee back in his arms.  
"Well, I'll be going now. I need to take a rest and then, back on the way."  
"And where are you going?"  
"Right now, to Pastoria. Why? Wanna come with me?... Uh, where'd that gal go?"  
Sean turned around to find put that Jody disappeared while they were talking. He sighed. He actually did like her company, even though she was wearing that big red R on her chest. Still, he was sure that they will sooner or later meet again.  
"Hey, Romeo, I asked you something."  
"Huh?" he turned back to Marina, blushing because of his own thoughts about Jody.  
"Are you going with me?" the redhead repeated her question.  
"Uh, sure, why not. It's always nice with a company."  
Marina smirked, seeing his red cheeks. She didn't have to read minds to see that Jody and Sean actually liked each other, though they both seemed to refuse to. Believe their feelings.  
"Then let's go," she said, putting her bag on her back.  
"Wait, you don't want to change your clothes?"  
"Oh, yeah, I forgot."  
The girl took the bag off, took a pair of sandals, and put them on. Then, she put the bag on again.  
"Now, let's go," she said, smiling at confused Sean. She began to like him.


	5. Quid Pro Quo

Halfway to the swampy city of Pastoria, Sean and his new friend, Marina, had to take a rest in a nice, warm, and cosy Pokemon Center. It was designed to fit in the local architecture: rather than a modern like any other Center, it looked like a big, white cabin, full of modernity inside.  
"By the way," started Sean, breaking the silence that was between them for about a half an hour. "Aren't you from Alola?"  
"How'd you notice?"  
"Your accent sounds quite exotic, but apart from that, you don't look like Alolan."  
"Well, my mum lives there. Dad, though, is from Hoenn. He moved there and then, they met each other. And… well, some time later, I showed up." Marina smiled.  
They both stood in front of the cabin-like Pokemon Center. It was getting dark and cold, and this place looked all warm and comfy. They walked inside. Immediately, they had been surrounded by a variety of young trainers.  
"It's Marina!" shouted one of them and the crowd raised the markers and photos with the posing redhead swimmer.  
"Well then, we've got a celebrity over here," said Sean, looking at Marina who started giving away autographs to her fans. She definitely liked standing in front of cameras.  
"You could say that," replied the girl, signing the last photo.  
After that, Marina's fans went back to their routine, from time to time looking at their idol. Sean walked to the counter.  
"Uh, hello? I'd like to rent a room. Or two," he said, looking at Nurse Joy.  
"Of course. Actually, you're quite lucky. We do have one room left. I'll book it for you and your friend. By the way, where did you meet her?" asked the nurse.  
"Honestly? By an accident, but after all, we ended up as friends."  
The pink-haired woman smiled and gave the boy a key labeled as room 08. He then waved at Marina, who was posing to some photos, making all the people's cheeks turn bright red, and they both went upstairs, to their room.

* * *

Sean was lying on his bed, constantly staring at the wall clock and scratching his Eevee's ear as she was sleeping beside him. Marina loved water, no matter if it was a lake or a bath. The problem was that they had only one bathroom, and that the redhead girl had been occupying it for about half an hour. He needed to get clean too! Meanwhile, Marina's Vaporeon, who had left his Pokeball right after they entered the room, was sitting on his owner's bed and wag his fish-like tail left and right, synchronizing with the clock.  
A moment later, the door to the bathroom opened, and Marina, dressed in a blue nightgown, went back to the room, leaving her ruby-red hair dry naturally. Sean blushed as she smiled and winked to him.  
"Like what you see?" she asked with a slightly flirty smirk.  
"Uh…" Sean had literally no idea what to say.  
Marina giggled and gently fixed the 'braid' his friend had made from his bandana. She then lied down on the bed, crossed her legs and looked at her Vaporeon. Who quickly lied down on her chest, ready to be petted as long as she wanted.  
"Are you some sort of a model?" asked Sean.  
"I used to be one, but then I decided to create some more dynamic beauty instead of static one. In short: I became a Coordinator. And what about you? An escapee from a farm?"  
"Exactly," Sean confirmed her words. "Now, sorry for leaving you, but I just have to take a break."  
"Sure thing. Take your time. Oh, and don't slip on the ti-"  
She didn't manage to finish the sentence as she saw her friend slipping on the wet ceramic tiles and hitting the floor so loud that he woke Eevee up.  
"Eevee!" she chirped out of shock and looked at her friend on the floor.  
"I'm okay… All bones in one piece…" groaned Sean, slowly standing up. Then he went to the bathroom without any problems, staring at the tiles as if he was about to hit the floor once again.  
After he closed the door, he started filling the bathtub in hot water. He deserved some relax after all he had experienced so far.  
Seeing the water slowly reaching the maximum level, he recapped it and stripped down. He even took off his favourite bandana, showing himself his short, light brown hair. Why was he constantly wearing this red bandana? Because of a nasty scar on his forehead which he gained after an accident involving mum's Scyther and a tree trunk.  
Sean slowly sat in hot water, even moaning because of this pleasure. He leaned his head towards the ceiling and sighed out of relief. He could actually feel all his muscles loosening up.  
"Ah… That's what I needed…"  
Suddenly, he heard something knocking to the steamed up window. He opened his eyes and, confused, looked at it. He noticed some light hair outside.  
"What the- How long has she been here?!" he asked himself.  
Sean quickly left the water, wrapped his lower half in a dry towel and walked to the window. Yes, that was Jody - she looked quite anxious and didn't even seemed to notice that her friend was actually naked.  
"Jody? What are you-"  
"No time to explain, you've got to help me!" She grabbed his shoulders and shook him back and forth.  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Sean gently pushed her away. "Easy there, girl! What's wrong?"  
"I-I… uh… Were you… taking a bath?"  
They both blushed.  
"Uh, yeah? It's a bathroom after all?"  
"Hey, what's going on out there?" shouted Marina through the window next to them. She looked around and noticed Jody, standing on a bunch of metal crates to reach the floor they were on. "Oh, hey there, rookie!"  
"Don't call me like that!"  
Both Marina and Sean had to admit it: Jody looked so cute when she was angry.  
"By the way, why didn't you just use the front door?" asked the boy. The girl just showed him a big red R on her top. "Oh, right."  
"Just let me in and I'll tell you everything…" Jody went back to her anxious state.

* * *

Still wiping himself, Sean, finally dressed in something more than a towel, which was a pair of pajama pants, was standing above the blonde girl as she was curling on his bed. He had never seen her like this. Something bad must have happened. Or was about to happen pretty soon.  
"I-It-s about my long-life friend… Team Rocket just got him. I've just gotten the letter from them…"  
Jody pulled out a folded note and gave it to Marina. As she was reading it, she was frowning more and more…  
"We've got your Growlithe. If you wanna get him back, give us something of the same value. With regards, B and C," she read. "Okay, quick question: why the heck would the Rockets steal each other's Pokemons?"  
Jody didn't reply, standing on the edge of crying. They saw it her eyes. She actually started to regret that she had ever contacted Team Rocket. All of a sudden, this uniform made her very, very ashamed.  
The farm boy walked closer, sat next to her, and, what none could expect, hugged her gently so she could try to calm down. This time, Jody didn't try to push him away or anything; she actually pulled him closer and started crying on his shoulder. Sean wasn't an expert of comforting people but he was doing his best: he let her cry out all the tears, gently patting her back. After a moment, Jody felt Marina's hand on her head. She looked at both of them with teary eyes.  
"It's alright, we'll get him back to you," whispered Sean and smiled at the blonde girl. She wiped her eyes and forced herself to smile back. "Where are they?"

* * *

He let her sleep in his bed with him. They both didn't complain. Unfortunately, Jody just couldn't close her eyes - she kept thinking about her beloved Growlithe, still ashamed of herself for sticking with such criminal scum as Team Rocket. Sean, lying right behind her, was watching her all the time. After some time, he gently embraced her around her waist and, even gentlier, pulled her from the edge of the bed so she wouldn't fall. Jody blushed but she had no strength to do anything else. She just turned around on the bed and lied her head on Sean's chest, put to sleep by the beating of his strong heart. Who would ever expect that? At the very beginning, they both seemed to become each other's biggest enemies or rivals, but in reality, this farm boy became the closest one she had ever had in this region… or anywhere else…  
"Thank you…" she whispered seconds before she closed her eyes.

* * *

Next morning…  
"Eevee!" chirped the Pokemon, standing on the tree branch and spotting a big vehicle that looked like a mechanical Rhydon. It was standing on a meadow in the middle of the nearby marsh. It wasn't a smart place to park with a vehicle which was basically a tank. The Pokenappers, though, didn't seem to care… or had no idea about it, which was an advantage for the gang.  
"Buiz!" replied Buizel, hiding in the tall grass a little bit closer to the tank. He tried to spot his friend's Growlithe somewhere around but he didn't make it. Apparently, he was being held inside.  
"Now that's one hell of a car," commented Marina, looking at the tank along with Sean. "They've surely got some strong Pokemons."  
"So what's the plan again?" asked Sean, watching Jody, who was shaking like a jelly about ten meters away from them.  
"See, this whole place is full of Croagunk. Croagunk who don't really like being woken up. If we manage to startle and target 'em at the Rockets, they'd give us some time to free Growlithe and all stolen Pokemons inside!"  
"Uh, why can't we just ask them for help instead of pissing them off?"  
"Trust me, you don't wanna discuss with a wild Pokemon that could take you down with one touch of a claw," she advised. "I've once had such experience and I don't recommend that."  
"If you say so…"  
They went back to watching Jody. She was holding a Pokeball containing one of Marina's Pokemons. Which one, she had no idea, but she hoped that it might be her way to get her best Pokemon friend back. As she walked closer, the stress increased. After a while, she noticed two figures leaving the Rhydon tank. It was a duo of a man and a woman - both in black Team Rocket uniforms. They were carrying a titanium cage with a Growlithe growling at them.  
"Well, well, well, look who has just come to us!" said the woman, smirking at Jody, and looking at her partner in crime.  
"Cassidy and Biff. Why am I not surprised?" replied the girl, enraging the green-haired man.  
"My name is Butch, you little brat! Butch!" he growled in a pretty comical manner. After a gentle slap in the back of the head from Cassidy, he calmed down a little bit. "Anyway… Judy…"  
"Jody."  
"Whatever. Show us what you got and maybe your precious Growlithe will come back in your hands."  
A drop of sweat appeared on the girl's forehead. She looked at the Pokeball in her hand and, closing her eyes, she summoned the Pokemon inside.  
"Vaporeon!"  
All three stared at the water Eeveelution, quite shocked. Marina gave her him? That was a sign of a huge trust.  
"A Vaporeon?! Well then, I did not expect that from someone like you, rookie." said Cassidy.  
Meanwhile, Sean, Marina, Eevee, and Buizel snuck into the grass, close to a small pond where resided several Croagunk. The might have not looked too dangerous, constantly 'smiling' and staring into the abyss with those almost empty eyes, but they were quite strong. The two trainers nodded at each other.  
"It's showtime!" Marina whispered to herself and jumped out towards the Croagunk. "Hey there, guys!"  
The Pokemons quickly beat her and threw her back to the grass as the farm boy, Eevee, and Buizel just stared at her.  
"I just knew it would end like this…" he sighed and carefully walked out towards the Pokemons. "Uh, hi?"  
"Croa…!" One of the Croagunk raised its paw, ready to take him down. Buizel and Eevee prepared to protect him.  
"Whoa, easy there, I come in peace!" Sean slowly raised his hands. The Croagunk stared at him, making him feel rather uncomfortable. "Look, guys, I need your help. Uh, we need your help."  
"Croagunk?"  
"Yes, it's about that vehicle. Our friend's in trouble and we thought you could give us a hand with this."  
Marina just stared at them from the safe distance. He was pretty good with communicating with Pokemons - she had to admit it. The Croagunk looked at him, then - at each other, quietly discussing about the potential help. After a while, the biggest of all five looked at the boy.  
"Croa," it hummed, making Sean smile.  
"Thanks. We need some good distraction. Can you do it?"  
"Croa!" all the Croagunk nodded and saluted.  
Sean smiled and, taking a chance, he pulled out the PokeDex and pointed it at the Pokemon.  
"Croagunk, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon. Croagunk stores poisonous liquid in its cheek sacs and fingertips. It produces an unique noise by expanding its sacs. The Croagunk venom is plays a significant role in medicine, being an important ingredient of remedies for lower back pain."  
"Growlithe!" they all suddenly heard a familiar cry.  
"That's our chance. Let's go!" said Marina, still massaging a bruise on her forehead.

* * *

Jody was actually crying from happiness, tightly hugging her Growlithe. It was a moving sight but neither Butch nor Cassidy were affected by that. They seemed to care more about the money they would get for that Vaporeon.  
"Fine, let's get going. We've got more important things to do," said Butch, looking at his partner.  
Suddenly, the Pokeball opened itself in the man's hand, and Vaporeon jumped outside.  
"What the-"  
"Vapo-reon!" growled the Pokemon and, without any warning, used the Hydro Pump on the Rockets. They, completely unprepared for battle, got pushed away, and landed on the side of their tank.  
"Alright, guys, now it's our turn!" Jody heard Sean's voice.  
A moment later, Butch and Cassidy were surrounded by a bunch of Croagunk, Eevee, Vaporeon, Buizel, and, after a short while, Growlithe. They couldn't even pull out their own Pokeballs! Sean smirked, looking at his friends - human and Pokemon.  
"Well, it seems you've gotten yourselves into one big mess," said Marina.  
"Stay away from me or my friends!" furiously shouted Jody. She pointed at them for her Growlithe and Buizel. "Flamethrower, Hydro Pump, now!"  
"Quick Attack!" shouted Marina.  
"Tackle!" added Sean.  
The Croagunk prepared their venomous claws.  
"I hate when it ends like this!" Cassidy shouted to herself.  
For a brief moment, the place flashed white as the Rockets got hit by all the Pokemons around them. When the light came back to normal, they were lying on the ground, one on another, overheaten, wet, bruised, and full of paralyzing venom.

* * *

Jody took off the Team Rocket top, staying in just a white tank top, and threw it in the sky.  
"Flamethrower!"  
"Grow!"  
Growlithe shot the top with a stream of fire coming from his muzzle, scortching it to the dust. Jody finally felt a relief. What was she thinking when she was joining them? Well, that didn't matter anymore. She was finally free from them! And without that top, she actually felt thst she could take a deeper breath.  
"So, this is your Growlithe?" asked Sean, hiding behind her back. She turned back to him and slightly smiled, wiping the rest of her tears from her cheeks and eyes.  
"Yes. I've had him all my life. I wouldn't know what could I do if I lost him to… to them…"  
"Grow~" barked Growlithe and nuzzled his owner's bare belly, making her giggle and give him a warm hug. She just loved him so much.  
Meanwhile, Sean pulled out his PokeDex and pointed it at the Pokemon.  
"Growlithe, the Canine Pokemon. Growlithe is loyal and obedient to its owner, able to fearlessly protect them from any kind of threat, no matter the size. Thanks to its olfactory system, it never forgets the smell of its friends and foes," read the message. "So, you're finally free, huh?" Marina smiled at the former Rocket rookie. She nodded and smiled happily. "And what are you gonna do now?"  
"Uhm… I thought about becoming a Coordinator."  
The swimmer's eyes shined out of excitement.  
"Coordinator?! I'll have a student! Yes!" she triumphed, confusing everyone around. She quickly came closer, friendly embracing her around her neck with one arm. "Y'know, it happened that I'm a Coordinator myself. How about learning some techniques from me, huh? My Co-ordinator?"  
Vaporeon hid his muzzle in his paw.  
Sean had never heard a drier pun before in his life, ironically coming from the mouth of a trainer of water types. He just sat down on the grass and waited for being hugged by Jody or something, and suddenly, a Croagunk leader went close to him.  
"Oh, hi there," he greeted him with a smile. "Where's the rest of your squad?"  
"Croa, Croagunk," he calmly replied.  
"You want to stay with me? Why?"  
"Croa."  
"Because I'm a good leader? I mean, I don't think so myself but I won't argue with you." Sean smiled awkwardly. He prepared the Pokeball and threw it at Croagunk as he jumped and headbutted it, coming inside with style.  
"Sean, we're going to Pastoria or what?" he heard from Marina.  
The farm boy looked at his new friend in the Pokeball, and then, at his Eevee who was sitting in front of him and smiling. He smiled back, gently picking her up. She nuzzled his cheek as he scratched hers.  
"Let's go, Eevee," he said, and Eevee replied with a lovely chirp.  
They went back on the road.  
"By the way, Jody, if you wanna get some new clothes, I know a nice boutique out there. Nothing in my style but I'm sure you'd like it," said Marina.


	6. Hard Work Works!

While Sean was booking a room in the Pokemon Center, Marina just pulled Jody's hand and ran somewhere with her, not caring whether she wanted it or not. They had already reached Pastoria, the city in the middle of the marsh. Wherever they went, there were nice, old-looking houses of many colours, and roads that crossed each other in rather chaotic, for the first glance, yet quite aesthetic order. One building was bigger than the others, shaped like a big metal round - this building was the Pastoria Gym, where all official battles took place.  
"Wet, sunny, and full of people. I love this place!" said Marina, looking around. And still holding Jody's hand, making her feel more and more awkward.  
"Where are we going exactly? And could you stop trying to pull out my hand?" asked Jody, finally breaking free from her friend's strong grip. The swimmer looked at her and smiled.  
"If you wanna become a Coordinator, you'll need something to wear for the contests so you won't be all that gray and dull while your Pokemons do all the job. Also, you need to get something in exchange for that partly scorched uniform of yours," she quickly explained.  
"Gray and dull?"  
"Sweetheart, you look like a soldier who's just walked outta jungle. It's definitely not your style. Now come on, it's just behind a corner!"

* * *

Getting the key to the room, Sean and Eevee walked out to breathe some fresh air, on the yard behind the Pokemon Center. If he had to be a trainer, he had to have his Pokemons strong and well-trained. He summoned his Croagunk from his Pokeball.  
"Croa." "Good day to you too, Croagunk!" he replied. "Listen, don't you want some training?"  
"Croagunk!" gurgled the Pokemon with some more enthusiasm in his usually stoic voice.  
"Great! Alright. Eevee, go on the other side of the field, I'll stay in the middle."  
"Eevee!" chirped Eevee and ran towards the second end of the field where her friend pointed. "Eev!" she communicated her readiness with a smile on her muzzle.  
Sean looked at both his Pokemons. They just waited for orders, ready to fight in any second now.  
"Alright! Croagunk, Poison Jab! Eevee, Dodge and Tackle!"  
Croagunk readied his claws and charged at the tiny Pokemon, wanting to inject some of his poison into her body. Eevee, however, being a little bit faster, took a leap on the side and suddenly hit her new friend with her strong head. Croagunk fell on the ground but quickly got up. Seconds later, Sean shouted:  
"Eevee, Quick Attack! Croagunk, Mud Bomb!"  
Eevee suddenly started charging at Croagunk as he immediately started shooting a bunch of mud 'bullets' from his mouth. He successfully stopped her in two third of the distance between them, making her fly her way back to her corner of the field. This time, it was Eevee who lost the round. Meanwhile, Sean was quietly analyzing what he was looking at. His Eevee was quite strong on short distances, but when it came to the long distance moves against her, such as this Mud Bomb, she seemed to lack reflex needed to evade all the 'bullets'.  
"Let's do it again, I need to see something: Croagunk, Mud Bomb! Eevee, Dodge and Quick Attack! Be as fast as you can!" he said and looked at the results.  
Said results were quite similar to what he was thinking: Eevee had been stopped in three fourth of her way and shot back to her corner, making her lose her consciousness. Sean quickly ran to her, and gently picked her up. He was right: she needed to train her speed and reflex to maximize her chances to dodge all Croagunk's Mud Bombs.  
"I think that's the end of the training. Nice job, Croagunk," said the boy and smiled at the toxic Pokemon as he saluted in response. "Come on, let's eat something."  
"Croa!" he replied and smiled a bit wider.  
They went back to the Pokemon Center. After about ten minutes, Eevee was back in the land of the living. She was quite bruised and dirty, but apart from that, she was okay. Sean left the two Pokemons alone for a moment and went to their room, to get some food for them and himself. Eevee dropped her ears.  
"Croa?" asked Croagunk, looking at her.  
"Eev, Eevee…" she sadly chirped. In response, she got a gentle pat on the head and a smile from the toxic Pokemon.  
"Croa, Croagunk, Croagunk," he comforted her. Suddenly, he got an idea and whispered it to Eevees ear. The fox-like Pokemon's mood immediately got better.  
"I'm back!" they heard Sean's voice. He was holding two bowls of Pokemon food for them, and a packed sandwich for himself.  
Both Eevee and Croagunk started eating very quickly. Sean didn't even eat the half of his own lunch as he saw two empty plastic bowls in front of his two Pokemon friends. Croagunk burped.  
"Croa."  
"No problem." The boy smiled at him.  
"Hi, guys!" they suddenly heard the voice of Marina. The corners of Croagunk's mouth quickly dropped as he noticed the swimmer. "Oh, hi there, Marina!" Sean greeted her with a friendly smile.  
"What's that? Having lunch without us?" she asked, comically pretending to look insulted.  
"Well, we've just had a small training so… By the way, where have you been? I just turned around back then, and you disappeared."  
"I thought our cute ex-rookie should change her image a little bit. And here she is!"  
Marina took a step aside and pointed at Jody, standing right behind her, smiling, and blushing. She was wearing, instead of the remains of her Team Rocket uniform, a nice, simple, red dress, a pair of high boots, with long stockings coming from them. In short: in Sean's eyes, her beauty and cuteness went through the roof. He blushed as well, left his lunch on the table, and stood in front of her, astonished by her new look.  
"Wow…"  
"Do you like it?" she asked quietly. The boy, having no words to express it, just nodded, making her smile a bit wider.

* * *

The room had three beds, and all of the three trainers could fit in, if Vaporeon and Growlithe didn't occupy one for the whole night. Sean was forced to sleep on the floor. Happily, he could keep the sheet and the pillow so it wasn't that uncomfortable as he might have expected. Also, there was a nice, fluffy carpet on the floor. Another good side of that.  
While all of them were asleep, Eevee, sleeping on her friend's chest, opened her eyes and twitched her ears. she looked around, lifting her head: it was all dark and quiet, maybe except Growlithe's snorting which, however, didn't disturb anyone's sleep.  
Eevee smiled to herself and slowly moved from her favourite place to sleep, heading towards Sean's bag. She needed to get Croagunk's Pokeball. Opening the bag, and spilling them on the floor, she caught the occupied one with her tiny muzzle and quickly left the room. She had no idea that the noise of the spilled Pokeballs actually awakened someone…  
On the yard, Eevee curled the Pokeball on the ground, and summoned her new, toxic friend.  
"Croa."  
"Eevee!"  
"Vaporeon!"  
Both Croagunk and Eevee looked around, just to find out that Marina's Vaporeon was standing right behind them.

* * *

Since he was used to waking up with the sunshine, Sean opened his eyes. His back was hurting as if he was sleeping on the floor. Oh wait, he actually was. He looked at the girls, still sleeping a deep sleep. They looked cute, especially Jody with her messy hair and baggy pajamas. Yep, he definitely got a big crush on this little rascal.  
Then, he attempted to scratch his Eevee's head, but he quickly realised that she wasn't there. He looked around. She wasn't even in the room! There was more: Marina's Vaporeon was gone, and his Pokeballs were all over the floor! What happened that night?  
"Uh, girls?"  
He didn't shout or anything, yet he was loud enough to awaken Growlithe. He raised his ears, then his head, and looked around, annoyed, just to stop at Sean - the only person around who wasn't asleep.  
"Grow…" he growled at him with a lot of annoyance.  
"Hey, don't look at me like that, Eevee and Vaporeon are gone!"  
"Grow?"  
Growlithe looked around. Sean was right - the two Pokemons were not here. Where did they go? The canine-like Pokemon jumped on his owner, still asleep, and licked her face. The jump was enough to awaken her, but he wanted to make sure she would be all conscious.  
"What the- Growlithe!" said Jody. At first she was angry but she immediately calmed down and smiled at her big guy. She hugged him around his neck.  
Meanwhile, Marina was awakened by Sean who just pinched her nose, making her wake up quite quickly due to the sudden lack of oxygen. She opened her eyes and pushed the boy's hand away.  
"Sean, what the heck?"  
"Vaporeon and Eevee are gone!"  
"What?!" shouted both girls.  
"Not only that! Hold on: two, three, four… Croagunk's gone too!" he added after counting his Pokeballs and noticing that there were five of them, not six. "Seriously, what the heck?!"  
They were about to immediately start searching them, not even changing their clothes, when suddenly, they heard a loud splash. They looked at the window - it was all in mud.  
"What's going on out there?" asked Marina and opened the door leading to a small balcony. Just after that, she got shot with a big ball of mud straight on the head. Hitting the floor, she wiped her eyes. "Wha… What was that?"  
"Wait a minute, I know that mud!" said Sean and, after helping the swimmer get up, walked outside with her, Jody, and Growlithe.  
They saw Eevee, bruised and with mud all over her body, desperately trying to dodge all the Mud Bombs shot by Croagunk on the other side of the yard, while Marina's Vaporeon was just lying behind him and playing with the toxic Pokemon's Pokeball as if it was a ball of wool. He was the only one, out of this three, who didn't look tired. In fact, both Eevee and Croagunk looked like they were about to faint from the unslept night.  
"Eevee! Croagunk!" shouted Sean.  
"Big V!" shouted Marina.  
All three Pokemons looked up and noticed their trainers. A moment later, Croagunk and Eevee couldn't resist any longer and fell asleep in the middle of their training. There was a long, awkward silence between all three trainers.  
"I'll go for them," finally said Sean, looking at both Jody and Marina.

* * *

Eevee and Croagunk ended up in hot water, being carefully washed by their trainer. The toxic Pokemon was actually still asleep and didn't even notice where he was. Sean carefully cleaned her fur with a shampoo Jody had given him for this.  
"Hey, what's going on, Eevee?" Sean looked at her and gently scratched her head. Eevee, in response, nuzzled to his hand.  
"Eev, Eevee…" she sadly chirped.  
"You're sorry? For what?"  
"Eev…"  
"For being too slow? Oh, come on, Eevee. You're not slow. It's not your fault. Actually, maybe it's Croagunk who's just too fast for you?"  
"Eevee, Eev, Eev."  
"Eevee, sweetheart, look at me." Sean's voice turned into more serious yet still warm. They looked into each other's eyes. "Just because you think you're not strong, doesn't mean you must be the strongest Pokemon around. I love you just the way you are right now."  
Eevee couldn't resist and nuzzled to her trainer's chest. In response, she got gently embraced and scratched behind her ears.  
"Also, you could have just asked me for some help. I'm sure we could do this together."  
"Eev?"  
"Yes, I am, sweety. But please, don't make my heart jump out of my chest by such actions as this one."  
"Eevee!" promised the Pokemon and snuggled into his chest again.

* * *

The tired Pokemons spent most of the day resting. Training and wasting energy in the middle of the night was a very, very bad idea, and the consequences hit them with a force of a typhoon, in form of perpetual somnolence. While Croagunk didn't actually mind sleeping an hour or two, Eevee just hated that feeling. She wanted some activity! But after some time, she just couldn't resist and fell asleep in her bowl of food. She slept until the afternoon. Then, she slowly woke up on the bed, just to realise that Sean had prepared her some energizing mixture of berries. It looked fine, smelled fine… She had a taste… and, in a split second, ate everything, full of new energy. Did he add coffee into this thing? She chirped out of happiness, awakening her trainer, sleeping on the bed right next to hers.  
Sean opened his eyes and smiled, looking at his Pokemon, all fresh and healthy. He sat down on the edge of the bed and caught Eevee, who had just jumped towards him, and nuzzled her cheek.  
"There you go! How are you feeling now?" he asked, smiling at her.  
"Eev~ Eevee!" she chirped in response, communicating her readiness for a battle or two.  
"Looks like my sweet remedy works," he said to himself and scratched Eevee's chin, making her purr.  
"Eevee? Eev, Eevee!"  
"Huh? You want to train again? Are you sure?"  
"Eevee!" confirmed Eevee, energetically nodding to his words.  
"Alright then! Let's go to the girls. They must be training themselves for some sort of a contest."  
They went outside. Just as Sean expected, Jody and Marina were training their Pokemons' moves. One girl's Pokemon was Growlithe, and the other one's was Vaporeon. Buizel and Sean's Croagunk were sitting on the bench and watching the smooth moves of both Coordinators and their Pokemons, which looked like a dance of elements of water and fire.  
As the training ended, filling the field with hot steam, the girls heard the applause from their humble audience, and bowed to them in a perfect synchronization.  
"That was awesome!" shouted Marina, fist-pumping with her new contest partner. "I can't wait to see the jury's faces when we show it on a contest!" replied Jody.  
"That'd be great! Oh, hey there, Sean! How's going, Eevee?"  
"Eev!" chirped Eevee and swished her tail on her trainer's nose, making him sneeze, and his friends - giggle.  
"Eevee wanted to have another training. She's sure she'll win this time," said Sean.  
"Eevee!" confirmed the Pokemon.  
"Alright then. Who'd you like to fight?" asked Jody.  
Vaporeon, Growlithe, Croagunk, and Buizel stood in a row, but Eevee pointed at the toxic Pokemon. She wanted to defeat him, just to make sure that training actually gave any effect.  
"Alright! Now, stand on your sides of the field!" said Marina.  
The Pokemons took their places as the two trainers stood aside, not to get hit by an accident.  
"You guys ready?" she asked.  
"Eev!"  
"Croa!"  
"Then, ladies and gentlemen, it's showtime!"  
"Eevee, Quick Attack! Croagunk, Poison Jab!" shouted Sean.  
Eevee charged at Croagunk while he was waiting for a good moment to stab him with some poison. Two heartbeats later, the tiny Pokemon was in his range, but instead of stabbing her, he stabbed himself: Eevee managed to somehow avoid his Poison Jab and headbutt his paw away, 'returning the package to the sender'. Luckily, he was immune to his own poison.  
"That's a one clever furball," commented Marina. Sean smiled at her words.  
"Alright, Croagunk, Tackle!" he said. "Eevee, Dodge and do the same!"  
Croagunk was the first one to attack. He quickly used Tackle on Eevee, she, however, was quicker, and dodged it quite easily. Then, she responded in the same move, and the toxic Pokemon hit the ground.  
"Wow! I guess that whole night training really gave some effect," said Jody, watching the battle. "What do you guys think?"  
"Buiz!" confirmed Buizel.  
"Grow, Growlithe!" added Growlithe.  
The Pokemons went back to their sides of the field. It was time to try if speed was still Eevee's weak spot. Sean fixed his bandana and smirked.  
"Croagunk, Mud Bomb! Eevee, Dodge and Quick Attack!" he shouted.  
The toxic Pokemon shot a whole bunch of Mud Bombs towards Eevee. She got scratched by two or three of them, yet she didn't stop, dodging the rest in a split second, and closing to her rival. Croagunk shot the last one just as he noticed her, charging at him with a great force. A heartbeat later, a huge cloud of dust embraced the two Pokemons. Jody stood up from the bench.  
"What happened?!" she shouted through the noise of that 'explosion'. "Anybody see who won?"  
"Not a single thing, even from that close!" Sean shouted back to her.  
A moment later, the dust fell down, revealing what was hiding behind it: both Eevee and Croagunk fainted, one on another. It seemed they got a draw.  
"Sean?" Marina looked at her friend.  
"Huh?"  
"This little girl is the most determined Eevee I've ever seen. _Ever_."


	7. Calavera Cubone

It was the day of eliminations in the Pastoria Gym. Many young trainers would do their best to fight their way to Crasher Wake, the leader of the gym, and to defeat him and his Pokemon, thus earning the Fen Badge. This was why Sean decided to go here, to the gym. Fighting Wake wasn't his reason to go to Pastoria, but since there was an event, why wouldn't he try?  
Entering the gym, Sean, Jody, and Marina saw a huge pool with some small platforms sticking out of it. On both sides of the gym, there were rows of seats for the viewers. At the moment, there were some trainers preparing for the eliminations. Good thing their Pokemon were already warmed up. They all wanted to sign in and take part in the battles, especially Marina. Of course, she was a coordinator, but she would never walk away when there was a chance to fight Crasher Wake himself!  
"Guys, would you look at that!" she said with a wide smile. She was in her natural environment, definitely.  
"Well, well, well!" they suddenly heard an aggressive yet friendly voice of a very manly man in a mask. "Who we have here?"  
Marina and Vaporeon turned around and noticed Crasher Wake himself, casting a shadow at them with his giant, powerful body. They just stared at him with eyes of the greatest fans on the planet.  
"Crasher Waaake!" squealed Marina. Wake smirked and laughed at her reaction.  
"Haha! Yes, that's me! And you, cute lady, are Marina, right?" he asked to make sure.  
"Yeah, that's me. I can't believe it! The leader of the Pastoria Gym knows who I am!"  
Meanwhile, several meters away, Sean, Jody, and Eevee just stood there and stared at their friend, who couldn't contain her excitement.  
"Someone's got an idol," whispered the boy, looking at both Jody and Eevee. They just nodded, not having to say anything.  
"Sooo… Who wants to fight? To make sure we're all prepared?" suggested Jody, attempting to change the topic.  
"How about me?" they suddenly heard another voice - this time, it was warm and gentle, yet still quite manly.  
They noticed who was the owner of this voice. It was a pale, hooded boy, slightly older than them, having lots of plant patterns all over his jacket, making it look like overgrown by vines. He sent Jody a flirty smile, making her blush hard on her cheeks.  
"And you are…?" asked Sean, attempting to stop him from flirting with her.  
"Maurice," he briefly introduced himself, smirking at both of them. "And you?"  
"Sean."  
"Jody."  
"Nice to meet you two," said Maurice. "So, what about warming up before the real battles?"  
"Su-"  
"I'll go!" Sean quickly interrupted Jody, confusing her like never before. What was that weird behaviour of his?

* * *

The girls sat on the bench, looking at both Sean and Maurice. They, meanwhile, were quickly preparing for a battle on a yard nearby the gym. The farm boy decided to let Eevee rest, and summoned his Croagunk, who was always eager to fight but calm and chilly at the same time.  
"Don't you think, Marina, that Sean's behaviour is a little… weird?" asked Jody. Not receiving any kind of reply, she looked at her, and noticed that the swimmer girl was staring at Maurice. Her eyes were telling more than a thousand of words. Jody pushed her a bit, making her almost fall over.  
"Huh? What? Sorry, I've been watching this handsome guy…"  
Great. She got a crush on him.  
"What's wrong with Sean? Since Maurice showed up, he's acting… weird," Jody repeated.  
"I've got an idea but I think I'll leave it to myself~" Marina smirked adorably.  
"Oh, come on!"  
"Alright, alright, here it goes…"  
The swimmer girl leaned towards Jody and whispered something to her ear. Eevee, meanwhile, tried to catch something from this secret message by leaning right under the girls and pointing her long ears upwards. What she heard, made the girl blush adorably.  
"What?!" asked Jody, not knowing what to say anymore.  
Meanwhile at the yard, Sean stared at Maurice, who just stood there, smiling and hiding his hands in the pockets of his jacket.  
"Come on, Maurice, show us your Pokemon!" said the farm boy.  
The pale boy took a Pokeball from his pocket, and threw it in front of his rival and his Croagunk. All of them, except Maurice himself, suddenly stared at the Pokemon who left the Pokeball.  
It was a Cubone whose skull 'helmet' had been painted in various colorful patterns, resembling a sugar skull from the Day of the Dead.  
"Wow, he's got some nice talent in decorating bones," said Marina, staring at both Maurice and his Cubone.  
Meanwhile, Jody picked up Sean's PokeDex, which he gave her for this battle so he wouldn't damage it, and pointed it at Cubone. A moment later, it got registered, and a note showed up on the screen:  
i"Cubone, the Lonely Pokemon. Cubone wears a skull of its deceased mother. Whenever it sees her in the moon, it starts crying, making the skull rattle hollowly."/i  
"Cubone!" growled Cubone, ready to battle.  
"Alright, Croagunk, are you ready?" Sean asked his Pokemon.  
"Croagunk," calmly replied Croagunk. "And you, Cubone?" asked Maurice.  
The painted Pokemon nodded.  
"Alright, we fight 'till the first win."  
"Sounds good for me. Okay, Croagunk, Mud Bomb!"  
"Deflect it with your Bone Club!"  
The toxic Pokemon shot a whole bunch of muddy balls straight at Cubone. He, however, quickly hit every one of them.  
"Now, Headbutt!" ordered Maurice.  
The Lonely Pokemon quickly came to Croagunk and headbutted him with his decorated, horned skull. It was so powerful that the Toxic Mouth Pokemon fell on the ground.  
"Get up, Croagunk, and Poison Jab!" shouted Sean.  
"Croa-gunk!" growled Croagunk, suddenly hitting Cubone in the stomach with his venom claws. The smaller Pokemon couldn't even try to dodge such fast move.  
"Now, Tackle!"  
Two heartbeats later, the Toxic Mouth Pokemon charged at his opponent with all of his power, nearly beating the consciousness out of his body. Cubone, however, seemed to be quite strong for such a small Pokemon, and still stood on both feet with determination on his mask.  
"Bone Club, twice, quickly!" commanded Maurice, and Cubone hit Croagunk on the head with his bone. After the second time, Sean's Pokemon was barely able to stand, severely stunned, with the biggest headache he had ever had so far. A moment later, he just fainted, and Cubone lifted his bone in a victorious gesture.  
"Croa…" hummed Croagunk as he was going back to his Pokeball so he would rest before the eliminations.  
"Come here, Croagunk, you've earned some rest," said Sean, slightly smiling at the Pokeball. Then he looked at his opponent as he was doing a high five with his friend. "Your Cubone's pretty strong."  
"Isn't he?" Maurice smiled, scratching Cubone's head through the skull, making him gently nuzzle his hand. "We've been doing a lot of training so he'd have no problems fighting bigger opponents."  
"Cube!" confirmed Cubone.  
"Anyway, wanna eat something?" the hooded trainer asked the whole team.

* * *

All three trainers, along with their Pokemon, were waiting at the table outside for lunch made by Maurice. They had no idea what to expect, but judging by Cubone's enthusiasm, it would be a very good one. A moment later, their new friend showed them a plate… full of tiny Pokemon skulls with floral decorations, staring at the trainers and their Pokemon with their empty eye sockets.  
"Uh…"  
"Let me present you my PokeCalaveras!" said Maurice as Cubone picked up one of the skulls.  
"PokeCalaveras?" repeated Jody, staring at the weird snacks with her Growlithe and Buizel, on the level of the table. "I'm not sure whether it looks tasty or terrifying…"  
"Bui," confirmed Buizel. He took one of the skulls - the one resembling a skull of a Nidoran - and took a bite. All of a sudden, he fell in love with it, and ate it with one bite. It was sweet like a berry poffin. Or maybe even better.  
"My family used to make them to honour our ancestors and their Pokemon." Maurice took a small bite of the Cubone-shaped PokeCalavera. "Memories have never tasted so good before!"  
The trainers, encouraged by their new friend and their Pokemon who seemed to enjoy the unusual meal, took a bite, then two... and all the sweet snacks disappeared in a split second!  
"Oh… my gosh… That was the best thing I've ever had…" said Sean, lying on the bench with Eevee lying on him in the same time.  
"Eev…" purred Eevee with an ecstatic smile on her muzzle.  
"Got some more?"  
"Not yet, but I can make more!" What could Sean say? He had always had a big appetite, and nothing seemed to change anytime soon. That was one big compliment for the cook.

* * *

"My turn! My turn!" Marina kept asking him for a battle, determined to spend some time with him.  
"Sure, with pleasure!" replied Maurice, giving the swimmer girl a warm smile, which made her squee internally like a fourteen-year-old fangirl. "Let's go."  
Both Marina and Maurice went on the yard as Sean and Jody kept sitting at the nearby table, watching the show. Suddenly, they noticed that their hands were close to hold each other, and quickly put them away.  
"So, uh…" Sean didn't know what to say. "It… seems Marina's got a crush on him."  
"A very big crush," confirmed Jody. "So… What do you think about that last training of ours?"  
"You mean that elemental helix? Honestly, one word: wonderful. Seriously, I've never seen anything like that. I'm sure you'll get a ribbon or two. Can you make it yourself?"  
"I can try, but maybe after they're fini-"  
Suddenly, Cubone dodged Vaporeon's Hydro Pump which hit both Sean and Jody, throwing them out of the table, and making them land on each other on the ground. Eevee, who managed to dodge the missing move, smirked as she stared at them, lying like that. They looked as if they wanted to kiss.  
"C-Could you… get off of me… please?" the girl finally asked, all red on her face because of this awkward situation.  
Sean reacted a few moments later, and finally stood up, just to lie down on the ground again, next to her. Jody, still red like a big tomato, looked at him and noticed a gentle smile on his blushing face. She smiled back and then looked at Marina and Maurice, who paused the battle for a moment.  
"Sorry 'bout that!" shouted the swimmer girl. "Are you okay?"  
"All wet and a bit bruised, but everything's okay!" Jody shouted back and waved to them. Looking back at the farm boy, she giggled and helped him stand up.  
The battle ended, Maurice barely won as his Cubone had been caught by a surprise attack of Vaporeon and, with all his consciousness lost, landed in his Trainer's arms, thrown away by a powerful Hydro Pump. Then, after they shook hands like professional sportsmen, Jody took their place along with her Growlithe and Buizel, and attempted to perform the elemental helix she and Marina had created the day before. Meanwhile, Eevee kept staring at Sean with that suggestive smirk.  
"What?" he finally asked out of confusion.

* * *

The eliminations had just started. Maurice, Sean, and Marina kept winning battle after battle while Jody lost after her second one. She was sitting aside, treating her Pokemon and watching her friends trying to reach the final. Her heart skipped as she saw Sean and Croagunk, fighting against Marina and Vaporeon. They both were determined to defeat each other and later fight Crasher Wake. Unfortunately for Sean, however, Marina was more experienced than him, which resulted in his quick defeat. He and Croagunk were actually thrown out of the platform, straight to the pool.  
For a brief moment, everyone applauded to the victory of the swimmer girl, but later, she noticed that something wasn't right: Sean didn't swim out. Did he even know how to swim? She jumped on his platform and from there, she noticed, that he was desperately trying to get out of the water, still holding Croagunk with one hand.  
Without any thought, Marina jumped straight into the water and caught the boy, ordering Vaporeon to catch Croagunk. A moment later, they all left the pool, and Sean caught a heavy breath. He coughed out some water, patted several times by his friend.  
"Huff… huff… Thanks…" he panted, still full of panic and adrenaline.  
"You could've said you can't swim…" Marina pointed it out to him, looking at Vaporeon, resuscitating Croagunk. She looked at the audience and waved to them to show that everything was alright.  
"I couldn't find… the occasion," said the boy. "Croagunk, are you okay?"  
"Croa…" quietly replied Croagunk.  
Suddenly, Sean got hugged by both Jody and Eevee who were so scared about his life.  
"Argh… G-girls… No air…" he stuttered, turning blue on his face.  
As the girl loosened the hug, his colours went back to normal. She was so happy to see him all in one piece, and didn't even mind showing it. After a brief moment of confusion, Sean hugged her and Eevee back. He sighed out of relief.  
"Uh, guys, It's not like I wanna break this cute moment, but…"  
Marina's words hit them like a Rhyhorn as they saw the audience focused on them, cuddling in the middle of the gym. They turned bright red and quickly disappeared from sight. The swimmer girl once again got the attention of the entire audience.  
Now it was time for the semifinal. Marina was closer to the victory than anybody else in their small team!


	8. Ghost Gligar

Still wiping himself, Sean was watching the battles, along with Jody. Marina was getting closer and closer to the final battle with Crasher Wake. Her Vaporeon was very strong, but was he strong enough to defeat the gym leader and, what was more important, the rest of the trainers?  
"Only two more battles and she wins!" noticed Jody.  
"Beat 'em, Marina!" cheered the boy.  
"Eevee!" chirped his Pokemon, joyfully waving her paws towards Vaporeon.  
Marina, waiting on the platform for their next opponent, scratched her friend's fins, making him purr loudly and fold them out of enjoyment. The swimmer girl smiled, crouched in front of Vaporeon and looked into his eyes.  
"We're gonna win this, Big V. Be as strong as you can," she said to him.  
"Vap!" replied Vaporeon and nuzzled his trainer's cheek to show affection.  
"Wow, they really love each other," Sean said to himself.  
"Looks somewhat familiar…" said Jody, looking the boy's Eevee, playing with his bandana, and smiling.  
"And now, ladies and gentlemen, this one battle will tell us who is worthy to fight against our leader!" announced the speaker.  
Marina stood up, ready for the battle, but suddenly, her jaw dropped as she saw who had just stood on the other side of the pool. She couldn't confuse that hood with anyone else's.  
"Maurice?!" shouted all three trainers.  
"Where's this shock from?" Maurice looked at them, pretending to be confused. "Did you think we're not good enough to get so far?"  
"What? No, I just, uh…" Marina actually, maybe for the first time in her life, didn't know what to say. She liked him... quite much, and she hoped he liked her as well. But would this battle change their relations? She had no idea.  
"Wake up!" she suddenly heard from both Sean and Jody.  
"Huh? Oh, right, the battle!" The girl shook her head and pointed at the platform in front of her. "Vaporeon, go!"  
"Vap!" The Pokemon jumped in front of his trainer and growled at Maurice. The pale boy smirked, took off his hood, showing his almost completely shaved head, picked a Pokeball and threw it at the platform. This time, it wasn't his Cubone.  
"Gligar!" screeched the bat-like Pokemon, flapping its wings about two meters above the surface of the water. It also, just like its skull-wearing friend, had the colorful patterns painted on its body - on its arms and back, to be exact.  
"It's Gligar!" said Jody.  
"Hold on, aren't Gligars more, I dunno, pink?" asked Sean. "This one is more blue."  
"Is this a shiny one?"  
Sean, interested by the bat-like Pokemon, took his PokeDex and pointed it at Gligar.  
 _"Gligar, the Fly Scorpion Pokemon. Gligar glides from tree to tree without a single sound, using its cape-like wings. The females have a smaller stinger than the males,"_ said the device.  
"Well, judging by this one's size, that's definitely a guy," commented Sean.  
Back at the pool, Marina ordered her Vaporeon to hide in the water and then suddenly shoot a Hydro Pump at Maurice's Gligar. He, however, was very fast and agile - nothing could hit him. Both trainers on the bench, and their Pokemon, noticed that their friends became completely focused on the other one's defeat. Both wanted to win, but there would be only one winner.  
"Come on, tough girl!... Now, Gligar: Screech!" ordered Maurice after Vaporeon jumped on a platform.  
Gligar took a breath and suddenly screeched so loud that everyone's ears felt a great pain, especially Vaporeon's.  
"And now Poison Sting!"  
"Agh, Vaporeon! Quick Attack!"  
Barely hearing his trainer, Vaporeon didn't do anything, only tried to dodge the swooping Pokemon who stung him in the back.  
"Quick Attack!" Marina shouted once again. This time, her Pokemon heard the command, and quickly punched Gligar away. "Yeah! Back in action, Big V!"  
"Vapo!" replied Vaporeon.  
"Hydro Pump and Quick Attack!"  
"Harden!" shouted Maurice.

* * *

That was one long round. Both Vaporeon and Gligar were exhausted. They were very good for each other, which nearly resulted in stalemate. It looked like only one move could change the situation.  
"Quick Attack!" ordered Marina, literally shivering from all that adrenaline flowing in her blood.  
"Do the same, Gligar!" Maurice said to his Pokemon.  
Vaporeon and Gligar, both tired like never before, rushed at each other and hit each other with their heads. However, the water Pokemon was much heavier than the much smaller bat-like one, and the force of his move was equally bigger, which resulted in Gligar's instant loss of consciousness and emergency landing right under his trainer's feet. After that, Vaporeon lied down on the platform, panting from exhaustion.  
"Round number one ends with the victory of Marina!" announced the speaker. "Now it's time for the final round!"  
"Great job, Big V. You've deserved some rest…" said Marina, taking her Pokemon back to his Pokeball.  
"You've done well, my friend," whispered Maurice, doing the same. Then, he looked at the swimmer girl. "Well, I admit: you're pretty good."  
"Thanks… So are you." The girl smiled at him.  
"But that's the end of the childsplay. Now it's time for the real battle. Cubone, your turn!"  
He threw the Pokeball and his Lonely Pokemon jumped on the platform, ready to fight. Marina looked at her balls and, after a brief moment of thinking, threw one. The difference of size between the two Pokemon was again very big, but this time, it was the girl's Pokemon who was smaller. It was a Pachirisu - a tiny, adorable, squirrel-like Pokemon, the type of which was Electricity. Marina concluded that if they managed to throw Cubone to the water, Pachirisu could easily take him down with its electric moves.  
"Pachi!" chirped Pachirisu.  
 _"Brave girl. Brave or desperate,"_ thought Maurice as he was looking at his opponent.  
"Pachirisu, Quick Attack!" ordered Marina.  
"Cubone, Bonemerang!"  
The Lonely Pokemon was about to throw his bone but Pachirisu was faster and almost pushed him from the platform. Fortunately, it didn't happen and he stayed where he had before.  
"Headbutt!"  
The revenge came as quickly as the first attack: Cubone pushed the squirrel-like Pokemon away, using his head - quite literally! Pachirisu got punched away to the next platform. Marina gritted her teeth.  
"Spark!" she briefly ordered.  
Pachirisu's whole body got covered by hundreds of tiny sparks. The Pokemon quickly jumped and rammed into Cubone in attempt to electrocute him.  
"Bone Club!"  
Being in three fourth of its way to its target, the squirrel-like Pokemon got hit with Cubone's bone so hard that it landed back in front of its trainer. That guy was very, very strong for his small size.  
"Pachirisu, get up! You can do it!" cheered Sean.  
"Don't give them satisfaction!" added Jody.  
"Eev Eevee!" chirped Eevee.  
But Pachirisu didn't make it. It was about to stand up, but it fell back on the ground, losing the remains of its consciousness.  
"Pachirisu is unable to fight! Maurice is the winner!" announced the judge.  
Maurice and Cubone bowed to the audience and then, to their opponents. Marina just sent the boy an awkward smile, sent Pachirisu back to the Pokeball, and quickly disappeared from the arena as everybody was focused on the winner. Sean and Jody looked around but couldn't see their friend anywhere. They looked at each other and left the arena themselves to start looking for her.

* * *

"Marina, where'd you go?" shouted Sean, walking through the corridor with Eevee and Jody.  
"Eevee!" suddenly chirped the Pokemon and ran into one of the rooms, most likely hearing their friend.  
"What the- Eevee! Wait for us!" called Jody.  
They reached the girls' locker room. Peeking through the door, they noticed Marina, lying on the bench and scratching Eevee's back as she was lying on her chest and quietly enjoying what the swimmer girl was doing. It looked like she was a therapeutic pet. Marina definitely wasn't having time of her life as her dream to battle Crasher Wake wouldn't come true anytime soon. Looking at each other, Sean and Jody slowly approached their friend.  
"Uh, Marina, are you okay?" asked the girl.  
"No, I'm not…" quietly replied Marina, not even looking at them. "Right now, I just wanna lie down and do nothing 'till I get over with that."  
"You know, if you need anything, you can count on us," said Sean, taking a seat on the floor next to her along with Jody.  
"Can you congratulate him in my name?"  
Suddenly, all three of them heard the door being opened. They looked in that direction and noticed no one else but Maurice, with his hood back on his head and a smile back on his mouth. The trainer walked closer and looked at Marina, staring at him and blushing as if he had approached her in very awkward situation. Because he did.  
"How's going, Marina?"  
The swimmer girl stood up in a split second, making Eevee come back to her trainer, and smiled like nothing really happened. "Fine! Everything's fine! Uh… It was…" She didn't know what to say. She looked at her friends, sitting under the lockers, who just shrugged, not knowing what to say either. "Good match. And congratulations. Hope you'll get the badge. You deserve it."  
"Thanks." Still smiling, the boy gently took her hand, making her face turn bright red. "So, you're leaving now?"  
"Uhm, that was our plan… Will we meet again?"  
"I'm sure we will. And then, maybe I'll take you to a restaurant? What d'you think?"  
"Great idea…"  
For a brief moment, they were just staring into each other's eyes, and after that, Maurice gave the girl a small box with a ribbon on its top.  
"I gotta go now. See you around, Marina," he said and left the locker room.  
Marina was just standing there, staring at the door, completely paralyzed from this meeting. He actually liked her! After being poked by Sean's Eevee, she shook her head and looked at the gift from him. She opened it and saw a chocolate-coated PokeCalavera in a shape of a Vaporeon's skull. This was so cute and disturbing in the same time. There was also a row of numbers on a small piece of paper behind the candy - it was Maurice's phone number.  
"Uh, Marina, are you okay?" asked Jody, disturbed by her friend, not saying anything and just staring at the gift as if she had been turned into stone.  
Marina looked at her friends with a big smile on her face.  
"This is the best day of my life…" she said and almost fell down on the floor if not Sean and Jody's quick reaction.  
"Alright then, let's better get back to the Pokemon Center," suggested the boy, looking at Jody and Eevee, sitting in his backpack.

* * *

"Here they are! All your Pokemon are all good and healthy!" nurse Joy announced to the three trainers who had been waiting for about two hours. Maurice's Pokemon were quite powerful, no wonder it took so long to cure them.  
"Vaporeon! Pachirisu!" called Marina and both Pokemon jumped at her, pinning her to the ground and starting cuddling with her. "Hehe… Hey, easy there."  
"Pachi!" chirped the squirrel-like Pokemon, nuzzling with her trainer's cheek, and unintentionally electrocuting her.  
"Vap Vaporeon!" added Vaporeon, just lying on her like a big blue rug.  
"That's so sweet…" commented Jody, looking at them and hugging her own Pokemon.  
"Grow." Growlithe licked her cheek.  
"Good to see you back, Croagunk." Sean made a gentle fist-pump with the toxic Pokemon.  
"Croa."  
"Alright, so where do we go now?" asked Marina, finally standing up, with Pachirisu still clinging onto her arm like a fluffy bracelet.  
"Hmm, what's the closest city?" the boy asked Jody. She looked at the map on the wall, slowly moving her finger from one point to another.  
"If we go west, and then follow Route 212, we'll reach Hearthome. What do you think about that?"  
"Sounds like a good idea to me," replied Marina.  
"Yeah, me too," confirmed Sean. "Oh! I've just reminded myself something. My dad might be out there if he's not come back home."  
So, this was their new target: the city of Hearthome. In the morning, they packed up and left Pastoria, heading straight on Route 212, optimistic about their journey.  
"Oh, by the way, Marina," suddenly started Jody, reminding herself something rather important.  
"Huh?"  
"Wake told me to give it to you." The girl showed her an envelope and gave it to her hands.  
"What's that?"  
Marina slowly opened the envelope and took out a photo of Crasher Wake himself, flexing his muscles to the camera. It was also signed by him with a red marker: _"To my fan from Crasher Wake!"_  
"Oh-ho, there she goes!" Sean quickly caught the fainting girl - again. "Somebody needs a little training over their excitement management."  
"Definitely," confirmed Jody.  
"Eev..." nodded Eevee.


End file.
